Inside Indian Creek Island, the “Billionaire Bunker” Where Bezos and Zuckerberg Both Own Their Homes

Hidden in Biscayne Bay just north of Miami Beach sits one of the most exclusive residential communities in the United States, a man-made island where the world’s wealthiest people are willing to spend tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars primarily for one thing: privacy, according to a report from Fortune.

Indian Creek Island, widely known by its nickname, the “Billionaire Bunker,” has become one of the most sought-after addresses among the world’s ultra-wealthy, counting Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg among its residents.

The island’s exclusivity stems in large part from its extremely limited housing supply. The roughly 300-acre island contains just 41 waterfront residential lots and a total population of only 84 residents, making it one of the smallest and most tightly restricted communities in the country. Properties on the island typically start around $60 million, according to the Fortune report, while newly constructed estates have commanded prices ranging from $150 million to $200 million. At the center of the island sits the private Indian Creek Country Club, home to an 18-hole golf course; membership reportedly requires a $500,000 initiation fee along with an extensive vetting and approval process.

Real estate experts told Fortune that the island’s appeal extends well beyond simple scarcity. Indian Creek functions as its own independent municipality, complete with its own local government and a dedicated police force that patrols both the land and the surrounding waterways around the clock. Access to the island is tightly controlled through a single guarded bridge, where visitors are required to identify themselves and may be subject to vehicle inspections before being allowed to enter. Unlike several other celebrity-populated islands in the greater Miami Beach area, sightseeing boats are also kept at a distance from Indian Creek’s shoreline, giving homeowners an unusual degree of seclusion from tourists and photographers seeking a glimpse of the island’s famous residents.

Bezos has assembled a substantial presence on the island, having acquired three separate properties on Indian Creek worth a combined total of more than $230 million. According to the Fortune report, Bezos is in the process of combining two adjoining waterfront parcels into a single, larger private estate, while continuing to live in another home he owns nearby on the island in the meantime. Zuckerberg has separately purchased a newly completed luxury mansion on Indian Creek, adding another prominent technology executive to the island’s roster of high-profile residents. Other well-known Indian Creek homeowners include retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Ivanka Trump, according to the Fortune report.

The growing concentration of ultra-wealthy buyers on Indian Creek reflects a broader boom underway across South Florida’s luxury real estate market more generally. A luxury real estate specialist quoted by Fortune said interest from ultra-high-net-worth buyers has continued accelerating even as activity has slowed across more affordable segments of the broader housing market. The report also noted that proposed policy changes elsewhere in the country, including California’s proposed 5% billionaire wealth tax, have prompted some wealthy individuals to explore relocating assets and purchasing property in Florida, a state that does not levy a state income tax, adding a tax-driven incentive to the island’s already substantial appeal among the ultra-wealthy.

Indian Creek’s combination of scarcity, security and discretion has helped set it apart even among the extremely limited pool of buyers capable of purchasing nearly any home in the world. With just a handful of waterfront estates available at any given time, strict controls governing who can access the island, and one of the most heavily protected residential environments anywhere in the country, the enclave has evolved well beyond a conventional luxury neighborhood, establishing itself instead as one of the most exclusive residential addresses available anywhere for the world’s wealthiest individuals.

The island’s history as a haven for the ultra-wealthy predates its current wave of technology billionaire residents, having long attracted prominent business figures, athletes and celebrities seeking a level of privacy and security difficult to replicate in more conventional luxury communities elsewhere in South Florida or beyond. The continued arrival of prominent new residents, including major technology executives like Bezos and Zuckerberg, has further cemented the island’s reputation over recent years as America’s premier address for individuals seeking to combine extreme wealth with an equally extreme level of personal privacy and physical security.

With demand for the island’s extremely limited inventory of waterfront lots continuing to grow, and broader economic and policy trends in states like California potentially pushing additional wealthy buyers toward Florida’s tax-friendly environment, real estate specialists quoted in the Fortune report suggested that Indian Creek’s already elevated property values and exclusivity are likely to continue climbing in the years ahead, further reinforcing the island’s position at the very top of the global luxury real estate market.